Greetings

Hello once again everybody! Welcome to another edition of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your cyber nature centre where we celebrate nature and photography every month with trivia, tips and site updates. 

Once again we'd like to thank everyone for subscribing, contributing and supporting our project. We've got some new features to tell you about this month as well as the usual sections which we hope you'll enjoy.

Trivia Time

Here's this month's trivia question: Which creature's name was derived from the French words meaning spiny pig?

You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter.

Here are the latest features at the Inn which we hope you'll enjoy.

Clicking on the images will take you straight to the page.

 

 

 

Birds of North America Crossword 3
Our latest interactive crossword features birds that have red, reddish or orange coloured features.

At-A-Glance Guide to Mosses

Meet a Goose-necked Moss, Palm Tree Moss and Stair Step moss as well as over two dozen other mosses in our latest at At-A-Glance Guide. 

Each month we invite you to submit nature photographs to this part of our newsletter.  

 
Julia F. from Kanuela, HI sent in this wonderful picture of some interesting looking wasps.
 It was taken while on vacation in Pretoria, South Africa.

 Rob Walker from Victoria BC sent us some more of his great underwater photographs. 
This is a Giant Pacific Octopus, Octopus dolfleini.

   If you would like to see your nature images in our members' section,
simply send us an e-mail. We'd love to hear from you!

    

 
Simply click on the images to visit the pages.
You can also check out the archives as they're just a click away:

These Double-crested Commorants are all vying for a spot to nest here on Haystack Rock near Cannon Beach, OR.  As you can see, they don't have a lot of room as each small spot is occupied.

Here are two ideas to get you thinking:
Number one: "Just a quick shower before I go in the pool."
Number two: "Hey! Who turned this thing on?"

If you have any suggestions for additional funny captions, please, send us an e-mail.
We'd love to hear from you and add your caption to our collection.

You can visit the rest of the collections at the Inn:
The Mammals| The Birds | The Insects
 

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In this section we examine the meanings behind scientific names.

Bog Laurel has the scientific name Kalmia polifolia.  Organisms have often been named in honour of people for one reason or another and this is the case with the Kalmia part of the name.  It honours Pater Kalm, an 18th century Swedish naturalist. 

The genus part of the name, polifolia, is derived from the Greek word polus meaning "many" and the Latin word folium = "leaf." This results in "many-leaved." Of course none of this helps us understand the common name which is believed to refer to the fact that this plant likes wet, boggy areas and the leaves reminds one of laurel or bay leaves.

 

 

Coming Up

Watch out for a special bulletin announcing and inviting you take part in our 2nd Annual Earth Day Celebration.  Get those camera batteries charged up!
 

Past Issues
We upload past issues of Whispers as new ones are issued.  You can view them all with a simple click here.  

Did you know that The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, Pinus longaeva, is the oldest tree in North America? Some species are over 5,000 years old!

Often appearing dead and gnarled, in reality it's a tough survivor and one of the most fascinating trees in North America.  Living at harsh elevations of over 5,000 ft/1500 m, the Bristlecone Pine is a hardy, slow-growing plant.  In some environments it can take 700 years to grow just three feet.  You'll find them in high mountains areas of the American Southwest deserts, especially Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada.

To learn more about trees, visit our Walking in the Wild Series of Trees featuring
pages with photographs and interesting information.

 

 

Until next time, best wishes from your friends at the Dereila Nature Inn - the Cyber Nature Centre for Nature Lovers. Watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox during the first week of May.